nihonkaigunkaifandomcom-20200214-history
Zaou
'' Zaou'' (蔵王) was the lead ship of her class of heavy cruisers built by the Imperial Japanese Navy before World War II. When she was commissioned, she was one of the best heavy cruisers in the world. She served in numerous operations during the war, and was eventually retired as a museum ship in the Port of Tokyo. Design The desire to create a well-balanced heavy cruiser began with the development of the Ibuki-class heavy cruisers, which were essentially the same as the preceding Mogami-class cruisers but with better armor and fire control. Engineers attempted to create a cruiser with better firepower, armor, firing range, and anti-aircraft capabilities than the Ibuki-class, while still maintaining a high top speed and excellent maneuverability. The resulting design materialized as the Zaou-class heavy cruisers. This class of heavy cruisers was the best in the world at the time they were commissioned. A top speed of 35 knots meant the ship could keep up with destroyer divisions, and the armor was strong enough to shrug off shell hits from light cruisers. The firepower of this ship included four triple barrel turrets housing 203mm guns in the AB-XY positions, six double barrel dual-purpose 100mm guns, and an array of anti aircraft guns ranging in caliber from 25mm to 40mm. Four quintuple torpedo launchers were installed in the aft end of the ship firing the lethal Type F3 610mm oxygen torpedo. An advanced RADAR system was installed on the top of the ship's main mast. The air group included two aircraft, with the possibility of equipping catapult fighters or spotter aircraft. Zaou was named after Mount Zaou, a volcano located in northern Japan. Service Record Zaou was laid down on 31 July 1939 and was completed and commissioned into the Imperial Japanese Navy on 12 December 1941, just a few days after the war began. She completed her sea trials by the beginning of 1942. From there, she was placed in reserve while the remaining ships in her class were completed and commissioned. Zaou's first combat mission came in November 1942 with the Battle of Guadalcanal, where she sunk the American destroyers USS Mayo and USS Kalk and assisted with sinking the battleship USS Colorado. Zaou returned to Sasebo Naval Arsenal for repairs. After repairs were complete, she went on patrol duties for the rest of 1942. '' Zaou'' returned to Sasebo again on 1 March 1943 to receive an arctic paint scheme for her next mission to the Aleutian Islands. She and her sister ship Fuji linked up with the Aleutian task force on 25 March 1943, and two days later participated in the Battle of the Komandorski Islands, which resulted in the sinking of the cruiser USS Salt Lake City and her escorting destroyers. As Fuji had taken damage, Zaou escorted her back to friendly waters so she could be relieved by a destroyer. After escorting duties were left to the destroyer Kitakaze, Zaou returned to patrol duties until a new order was received. On 15 July 1943, Zaou was ordered to head south to Vella Gulf, where a large Allied destroyer force was being reported. She arrived at Vella Gulf on 5 August 1943, and participated in the resulting battle, sinking three destroyers and assisting with a further four. With minor damage taken, Zaou sailed to Truk for repairs and resupply. Zaou remained on standby until 15 June 1944, when a large Japanese naval force was sent to defend the islands of Saipan and Tinian from the attacking Allies. All four Zaou-class cruisers were sent to the south end of Tinian together, where they were attacked by Allied aircraft. The aircraft sank Senjou, and Asama stayed behind to pick up survivors. Zaou and Fuji pressed on with their escorting destroyers, attacking and sinking a small cruiser force before nightfall. Now with the cover of darkness, the two cruisers mounted a suprise attack on the Allied carrier group. The carriers had accidentally left their deck lights on, so they were easy to spot in the dark. Zaou and Fuji launched a torpedo attack, and five minutes later, hits were confirmed on two of the three carriers. The remaining carrier, USS Gambier Bay, tried to retreat from the area, but she was caught in Fuji's spotlight. The cruisers rained fire on the carrier, and after ten minutes, gunners from Zaou claimed the kill. The cruisers turned around to return to port to repair and resupply, and arrived at Kure together on 26 June 1944. Category:Zaou-class heavy cruiser